International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in Lesotho
Lesotho: International tourism, expenditures (current US$) was 277.00 million current US$ in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 277.00 million current US$ for international tourism, expenditures in 2020.
The figure is down 14.2% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Lesotho peaked at 347.00 million current US$ in 2018 and was at its lowest, 16.00 million current US$, in 1996.
Lesotho ranks 113th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 17.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 16.00 million current US$ | -5.9% |
| 1997 | 17.00 million current US$ | +6.2% |
| 1998 | 16.00 million current US$ | -5.9% |
| 1999 | 17.00 million current US$ | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 195.00 million current US$ | +1047.1% |
| 2001 | 166.00 million current US$ | -14.9% |
| 2002 | 164.00 million current US$ | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 242.00 million current US$ | +47.6% |
| 2004 | 278.00 million current US$ | +14.9% |
| 2005 | 271.00 million current US$ | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 263.00 million current US$ | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 276.00 million current US$ | +4.9% |
| 2008 | 248.00 million current US$ | -10.1% |
| 2009 | 247.00 million current US$ | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 278.00 million current US$ | +12.6% |
| 2011 | 300.00 million current US$ | +7.9% |
| 2012 | 252.00 million current US$ | -16.0% |
| 2013 | 212.00 million current US$ | -15.9% |
| 2014 | 177.00 million current US$ | -16.5% |
| 2015 | 180.00 million current US$ | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 262.00 million current US$ | +45.6% |
| 2017 | 307.00 million current US$ | +17.2% |
| 2018 | 347.00 million current US$ | +13.0% |
| 2019 | 323.00 million current US$ | -6.9% |
| 2020 | 277.00 million current US$ | -14.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 277.00 million current US$ is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 272.00 million current US$, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 277.00 million current US$ is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 128.50 million current US$, 2.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +1047.1% | 17.00 million current US$ | 195.00 million current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.60 million current US$ | 16.00 million current US$ | 17.00 million current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 235.00 million current US$ | 164.00 million current US$ | 278.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 263.80 million current US$ | 177.00 million current US$ | 347.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 277.00 million current US$ | 277.00 million current US$ | 277.00 million current US$ | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More private sector data for Lesotho
- Merchandise trade 102.9% (2025)
- Food imports 23.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 59.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 1.88 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 23.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 70.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 773.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 327.08 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3004 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -22 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Lesotho?
- International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho was 277.00 million current US$ in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 347.00 million current US$ in 2018.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.00 million current US$ in 1996.
- How does Lesotho rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Lesotho ranks 113th out of 192 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.